


Pursuit of Happiness

by goldseabluewaves



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Bakery AU, Found Family, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Rating for Language, angus is sad but only for a bit, just having some fun writing some words, taako is a good person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-05-23 22:44:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14942769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldseabluewaves/pseuds/goldseabluewaves
Summary: Angus falls asleep in a bakery in a strange city. When he wakes up, he panics. This isnothow he intended for this day to go.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is appreciated! xoxo

Angus McDonald was the smartest ten-year-old in the small town of Refuge. As far as he knew, he was the smartest little boy in the whole of Faerun. And honestly, he could be the greatest detective on the prime material plane. But even the smartest detectives have to go to elementary school, especially when Ms. Tess says they have to. Angus knew she meant well, but Ms. Tess has to watch many little boys and girls in the home, and simply couldn’t know that Angus was much too smart for the fifth grade. So one Monday, Angus put on his sturdiest red boots, tucked his favorite book into his inside coat pocket (the first of the Hardy Boys series - which, if not a little childish, was certainly entertaining), sheepishly took a $100 bill from Ms. Tess’ wallet, and headed not for school but the nearest train station.

And for a time, all was well. He travelled to places he had only read about and saw things he had only dreamed of. His home could be anything from a public library, to a quiet garden, to a kind stranger’s stoop. He sustained himself with the money he could make by returning lost cats and dogs to rich folks or doing the odd bit of work - it was amazing, really, what most people would believe when faced with a very small boy who had long ago mastered the art of lying about his age.

But it couldn’t last forever. Even if he was the smartest boy in the prime material plane, he was still very young, and very alone. Two months into his journey, in a spot of bad luck, Angus fumbled his round, wire-rimmed glasses straight into a busy roadway. He looked on with despair as a wagon wheel promptly crushed them into dust and resigned himself to a blurry future. A few weeks later, he was tussled to the ground by a ragged group of street boys. They didn’t hurt him, but he was suddenly left without his thick grey coat and the wallet inside it. As the weather grew colder, less pets were waiting to be found and fewer strangers were willing to give an increasingly grimy boy the time of day. Angus gradually realized he couldn’t afford to travel as often as he wanted, and began attracting unwanted attention from local law enforcement whenever he lingered in one city for too long.

His breaking point came at an unexpected time. He was in Neverwinter, a city with a name that struck him as ironic when the first flurries of snow began to fall from the sky. He had just arrived that morning and still hadn’t found a place to spend the night; he felt weighed down by exhaustion, and he could feel a headache gradually building behind his eyes. His red boots, long turned a muddy brown and starting to pinch at the toes, carried him up and down unfamiliar streets. This wasn’t the first city that Angus had wandered and it probably wouldn’t be his last, but there was always something depressing about being surrounded by people who didn’t know you and would never care about you. For a moment he found his mind wandering back to his time at the home, where at least he had someone who wanted to know where he was and cared if his feet hurt, but he shook the thoughts from his head and brought himself into the present. It was time to deal with where his choices had taken him, his situation right now.

Angus found himself walking down a narrow cobblestone street filled with late night shoppers rushing to finish their errands. The wind howled down through the buildings and whipped at the boy’s face, and the ragged scarf he wore was doing a fully inadequate job at keeping him warm. He could feel the chill creeping into his bones and felt his face frown at the prospect of another freezing night. His feet slowed to a stop and he stood there a moment, cold and alone, unable to find the energy to keep walking. Angus felt pathetic. Is this how the world’s greatest detective should be living?

Just to keep moving - to do something, anything, Angus followed two shoppers as they swept into a nearby storefront. He ducked inside on their heels but was almost knocked off his feet by the aroma that surrounded him. The store was a bakery - a small affair, with clean round tables and honey-yellow walls that made the space feel as cozy as possible in the middle of a city. The bakery was crowded with shoppers escaping the cold, and Angus used his size to his advantage as he positioned himself at a back table that - thank the gods - had a half-eaten croissant still sitting at it. Angus took a huge bite of the pastry and felt some of the tension leave him at the taste of chocolate and bread. He settled his back against the wall and peeked around the room, still munching on the croissant. He knew this wasn’t the ideal place to loiter in; he should really get a move on, scope out some sort of sleeping arrangement, find a real meal somewhere, but the warmth of the radiator at his back and the comforting murmur of the crowd and the plush cushion of his chair was enough to put him at ease.

* * *

 

Angus’ elbow slipped out from under him, jerking his head to the side. His eyes snapped open in a panic and his breath left his chest in a huff. Oh dear god. The clock face on the wall read eleven at night and the bakery was completely empty, except for the cashier. The man started up from the well-worn book he was holding at Angus’ movement and almost splashed himself with the coffee he held in his other hand. There was a painful moment of silence where the two just stared at each other. But then Angus stood up with a sudden motion, his chair scraping against the floor and emitting a vicious screech. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then finally said, “I - I must apologize, sir, I seem to have lost track of the time, so sorry to bother you, I’ll be on my way now…” He trailed off as he grabbed his scarf and started to edge towards the door. But then the man jolted out of his seat and held out a warning hand.

“Hey kiddo, calm your roll, you’re not going anywhere.” His face was arranged in what he probably assumed was a stern expression but came across as more uncertain than anything else. Despite himself, Angus started and backed up a step in a hurry. “Woah, there,” the man said, leaning back. “Cha’boy’s not gonna, like, murder you. Unless I somehow drastically misread this situation, you look like you need a hand.” And at this, Angus froze in panic.

“I appreciate the concern, sir, but I really have to get going... my, um, my cat? Will be too… cold... if I forget to bring her inside?” Angus cringed as the words left his mouth. This had happened before, he knew how to handle this, goddammit. He opened his mouth to try to salvage the situation, but the man was already shaking his head.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“A - Angus, sir. Angus McDonald.”

“And where, Angus McDonald, do you intend to spend the night?” Angus reached for a lie, but his head felt fuzzy from exhaustion. Instead of an excuse, he let out a little sneeze. The man practically rolled his eyes at him and said, “Ok, that’s it, little man. Sit down, now.” He gestured to the closest chair and gave Angus an expectant look.

Angus swallowed, trying to ease his dry throat, and lowered himself to perch on the edge of the chair. His mind was racing, but Angus wasn’t so stupid as to panic. If anything, this was an opportunity. He gave the man now sitting across from him a proper once-over while reminding himself to breathe. He was dressed casually, with an orange apron bearing the logo of the bakery tied over jeans and a t-shirt, and a name tag that read “Taako” in impressive cursive. His blonde hair was french-braided and tied back into a bun, and together with the shaven sides of his head and the gold eyeliner it was obvious that he cared about his appearance beyond his uniform. But his eyes were kind, and he wore an expression of sincere worry despite attempting to act nonchalant.

Angus weighed the pros and cons of just running the fuck out of there. On one hand, serious stranger-danger; on the other, this could be Angus’ chance to recharge. He could finally sleep for a few nights, eat a full meal, and maybe get rid of the pounding in his head and the ache in his body. Angus rubbed his eyes, and then looked up. “Could I-could I just maybe sleep here tonight?” The note of desperation in his voice surprised him and he tried to stamp it down, but he felt his voice crack a little on his next sentence. “ I would just really love to, um, to get some rest.”

The man - Taako, apparently - nodded his head vigorously and let his breath with obvious relief.  
“Yes, of course” he smiled, and then immediately tamped down the brightness in his voice. “I mean,” he coughed, “um, you made the right choice, kiddo.” He dug around in his apron pocket and came up with a messy keyring. He pulled a key off and handed it to Angus, saying, “There’s a spare room in the back, last door on the left, locks on the inside.” As Angus reached for the key, Taako swept it up above his head for a second and pointed a finger at the boy. “And I expect a full explanation tomorrow, Agnes, so get ready for that.” He dropped the key into Angus’ outstretched hand and waltzed over to the cash register, hefting it up in his arms with a wink before climbing up the spiral staircase in the back right corner of the store. His voice carried down the stairs as he yelled back, “Knock if you need anything!” and then Angus heard a door slam just as the downstairs lights clicked off.

The whole interaction had taken place in under ten minutes, and now Angus was standing in a dark bakery with the key to the back. And had he just been called Agnes? He mentally shook himself and directed his attention to his situation. First, he raided the pastry shelf - he didn’t feel guilty about this at all, any bakery worth its shit would have fresh goods in the morning and then all those delicious looking danishes would go to waste. Then he quietly crept through the back hallway and found the last door on the left. Pushing it open, he saw a small but cozy room, complete with a twin bed, dresser, and a door that led to a closet-like bathroom. It wasn’t a hard leap for Angus to make that Taako most likely owned the building and this room acted as a sort of guest bedroom. It didn’t really matter anyways, though. He locked the door behind him, grateful for the ability to give himself some semblance of security, took off his shoes, and collapsed on top of the comforter. Angus’ eyes were closed before his head hit the pillow, and a wave of sleep took him under before he could form another thought.


	2. Day 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This gets cute and then it gets a little sad and then it gets cute again I don't know dude

Sunlight swept over Angus’ small form as morning came, and he buried his head under his pillow, not quite awake enough to remember where he was. That is, until a series of knocks rattled the door in its frame. Angus jolted upright, feeling the familiar wave of anxiety that had accompanied mornings at the bakery for the past week. It always took him a moment to remember that he was allowed to be sleeping in this bed, and wasn’t about to be evicted. He reached under his pillow, grabbed his key, and padded over to the door.

When he opened it, he saw the same sight that had greeted him every day at five am for the past week – Taako, still in his matching pajama set, coffee in one hand and a plate piled high with pastries and fruit in the other. He silently passed the plate to Angus, then turned and walked down the hall, absentmindedly running his hand through his disheveled bedhead. Taako had learned that Angus had no access to food in Neverwinter, and Angus had learned that Taako could not handle human interaction in the mornings, despite being in a profession that required waking up at the crack of dawn.

Thus they had reached an undiscussed agreement where Taako would make breakfast for Angus after doing some ingredient prep, and Angus in turn wouldn’t pester Taako before six-thirty. Because after only a week, Angus somehow already trusted this eccentric figure that let him sleep in the guest bedroom. That very first morning Angus had woken up wracked with a fever, and Taako had simply thrown a warm, colorful patchwork quilt on the bed and insisted on checking his temperature every hour. The third day, Angus had found a slightly bent, well-used pair of wire rimmed glasses on the bedside table, almost certainly because Taako had caught him holding the newspaper an inch from his nose the day before. And by the fifth day, Angus wasn’t leaving the bakery until nine, choosing to spend his mornings watching the soothing process of Taako and his right-hand baker Ren methodically cutting and weighing dough to be baked and sold later that day.

That morning, Angus dressed, brushed his teeth with a toothbrush Taako had left him in the bathroom one day, and trotted off behind the counter and through the swinging doors into the kitchen. He perched himself on the one three-legged stool in the room and nibbled at a pastry left over from breakfast as he watched Taako work. “Good morning, Agnes,” Taako said through a yawn, as he worked a piece of dough in his hands.

“Good morning, sir!” Angus replied, with a significantly greater amount of enthusiasm.

“What’s your plan for today, little man? Going off and conning some more suckers out of their hard earned cash?”

“Absolutely not, sir.” Angus replied, with a perfectly straight face. Taako had asked every day where Angus was coming up with the little cash that he did, but Angus refused to tell him. It’s not that Angus was doing anything wrong – in fact, he had found a rather mundane job as a dishwasher at a restaurant a few buildings over from the bakery, which he had managed to acquire by doing a very impressive impression of a smallish 13-year-old looking for a bit of extra cash. After that lunchtime shift around four pm, he would come back to the bakery and help Taako clean and close the store – it was the least he could do for the man that was housing and feeding him. Then he would head off to the least savory part of his day. While he could act older if he wanted to command attention, it was just as easy for Angus to act younger. So in the evenings, he would sit outside of the local movie theater with the most pathetic looking expression on his face and ask strangers for money. He _hated_ it, truly hated it, but he knew that at some point, Taako would get sick of him hanging around and kick him out, and he had to be ready.

Taako paused in his kneading of a second and wiped some of the sweat off of his face. He gave Angus a critical look.

“Hey Agnes?”

“Yes, sir?” Angus replied, unconsciously straightening his back as Taako stared at him.

“Why don’t you get off your butt and come help me for a hot sec.” He glanced at the massive clock hanging on the wall above the door. “This dough isn’t going to knead itself and Ren is running late.”

“Of-of course, sir!” Angus stuttered in surprise, shooting off the stool. He walked towards the dough already rolling up his sleeves, but squeaked in surprise when he was grabbed by the collar.

“Damn, Agnes, were you raised in a barn?” Taako yelped, hauling Angus to the sink. “At least wash your hands, kid!” Angus nodded sheepishly and did as he was told before joining Taako at the table. “Ok, now this shouldn’t be too hard even for a baby like you, Agnes,” Taako began, before taking Angus through the process step by step.

By the end of the morning, Angus was covered in flour and grinning from ear to ear. Ren had showed up eventually, flushed and frantic with apologies, but Taako had merely waved them off and the two of them worked in tandem to ready the shop, occasionally swooping in to give Angus a new task or a correction. Not for nothing, Angus was excellent at picking up skills and making himself needed, so the challenge of being taught something new was like a drug.

As he headed off to the restaurant, he found himself idly imagining what it would be like to stay a little longer at the bakery tomorrow. Maybe if he improved, if he worked really hard, Taako would accept his time helping as payment for staying. Because if Angus knew anything, it was that people didn’t give things away for free, and his debt to Taako was wracking up exponentially. But as he built and edited his pitch to Taako in his head, a commotion broke out farther up the street. Angus ducked inside a newsstand when he saw the cause of the scene – two police officers were loading a sullen but familiar looking teenager into the back of a cruiser. Panic flooded Angus’ body when he realized why he looked familiar; he was one of the homeless kids that hung around the back alley of the restaurant, known for stirring up a certain amount of trouble.

Angus turned tail and bolted back the way he came, trying to act casual but unable to keep himself from walking as fast as possible. It was only once he’d burst through the front door of the bakery, pushed passed a confused Taako at the register, and slammed the door of his guestroom behind him did he breath again.  And only when his heart stopped racing did Angus realize that in just seven short days, the bakery had become a place where he felt safe.

 

A short ten minutes later, Angus heard a knock on his door. He wiped at his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath before opening the door. Taako stood there, posed casually against the wall rubbing his hands with a towel. “So,” he began, twirling the towel with a hand. “What’s your deal, little dude?” Angus looked at his feet, already feeling embarrassed. Of course he had to go and fuck up his one decent – well, more than decent, amazing, actually – living situation in months.

“Sorry sir, I know I’m not supposed to be in here during the day, I just-” he stopped speaking in surprise when he heard Taako’s huff of disbelief. He looked up at him and was shocked to see Taako not-so-subtly rolling his eyes.

“No, keep going, Agnes. You were saying that you’re not allowed in your own damn bedroom?” “Um, I-uh, I guess so?” Angus stuttered, taken by surprise. This is not at all how he had expected this conversation to go. He opened his mouth to explain himself, but shut it quickly when Taako held up a hand in warning.

“Ango, chill out. Taako here,” and he pointed at himself, “was just checking up on you, seeing as you stormed back here like some sort of drama queen.” He gestured to the room around Angus. “were you not listening when I said you could crash here whenever you wanted? Hatchi machi, you’ve gotta start paying attention, Ango.”

“Oh, um- I’m, sorry?” Angus squeaked out, but Taako steamrolled over him.

“I mean, duh, of course you can hang here whenever. I find a fucking half-starved ten year old asleep on my table, like what am I supposed to do about that? Ignore that shit? Call fucking social services? No,” he said, waving the towel in Angus’ direction, “no, I’m not a psychopath, I know how that bullshit turns out firsthand, my dude. Give your man some credit, Ango. I’m out here being my best self, so don’t rain on my goddamn parade. Now go chill in your room until you feel better or so help me god, I will absolutely lose it!” He sucked in a breath and crossed his arms with a humph.

Angus stared at him, speechless. “Well?” Taako prompted, and suddenly the boy unfroze, doing something he hadn’t done in a long, long time. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Taako, burying his head into his flour-covered apron. Now it was Taako’s turn to freeze, and he let out a soft “oh,” when Angus crashed into him. His arms hovered in the air over Angus for just a moment, before he gently placed one hand in Angus’ curls and the other around the boy’s shoulders. He gave Angus a quick but sincere squeeze and then stepped back with his hands on Angus’ shoulders. Angus averted eye contact, looking a little teary.

“Thanks, Taako” he said, almost too quiet to hear. Taako grinned a wide, relieved smile. He hadn’t scared the kid off, thank god. “No problem, Angus,” he said, and then turned and walked out of the room. And then a second later he poked his head back into the door frame and said “-and don’t you _dare_ tell Ren about this, I can’t even begin to image how sappy she’d get, oh my god,” before giving Angus a wink and disappearing around the corner.

Angus flopped onto the bed when he could move again. _His bed,_ he thought, a grin spreading over his face. And with that thought, he curled up on the patchwork quilt  and took a well-needed afternoon nap.


	3. Day 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things become a little messy a few weeks later... aka plot for the first time ever

It was four in the afternoon on a lazy Sunday at the bakery, and Angus was fast asleep in his room, his latest detective novel resting open on the bed besides him and his glasses smooshed into his pillow. As the sun sank lower in the sky, thin beams of light peaked through the blinds on the window and fell across his face, just as the radio alarm clock switched on, playing a soft, static-filled concerto. Angus sleepily stirred awake and rolled away from the light. He let out a yawn and squeezed his eyes shut for just a minute – he really didn’t feel up to facing anyone right now.

For the past week or so, the air in the bakery had been filled with a tension that had initially baffled Angus – until it had started to truly worry him, that is. It had all started with the phone calls. Now that Angus was working as Taako’s assistant full-time, he had begun to notice that Taako would sometimes disappear for an hour at a time into the storage closet with the landline stretched out behind him and the door closed on the wire. Eventually, he would breeze back into the room, slam the phone on the receiver, and spin right back into whatever he was working on while waving off any questions without a second glance. And that was honestly the most ‘normal’ strange occurrence happening. In a particularly strange incident the day before, Angus had wandered to the front of the shop to sweep behind the counter during a break in the rush when Taako caught sight of him from across the room. All of a sudden, Angus had found himself in the back hallway with a sore arm from Taako almost pulling it out of his socket as he’d dragged Angus away from the counter and given him a hurried instruction to clean his room. Taako had offered a sheepish explanation, something nonsensical about Angus ‘not having a cashier’s license’, and shut down any other questions with surprising force. And this was on top of Taako’s not-so-covert and constant glances out the front windows of the bakery whenever Angus was in sight, or the fact that he had installed blinds in all of the windows that faced the neighbors or the street.

Ren had noticed the tension as well, and when Taako was in a mood, so was she Now, Angus and Ren worked in almost complete silence in the mornings, no longer interrupted by Taako’s lighthearted grumblings about the hour or the throwback station he would sometimes play on the radio. Angus would’ve been worried that Taako was trying to evict him if he hadn’t been reassured against that notion multiple times, almost to the point of aggression. But Angus had been the smartest ten-year-old in Refuge and he sure as hell was the best detective in Neverwinter, so he set his mind to fixing whatever this mess was.

Angus quietly stepped out of bed and pulled on a pair of Taako’s old plaid pajama pants (rolled on the waist and legs about a million times), before cracking open the door to his room and peeking out into the hallway. It was dead quiet in the bakery, with the only sound being the slight rattle of the radiator down the hall and the creak of wood as Angus’ bare feet crept across the floorboards. He made his way to the front shop and began tiptoeing up the spiral staircase that led to Taako’s rooms. He paused on the second floor landing and placed an ear against the door, holding his breath as he strained to hear something. Taako always went on a supply run Sunday afternoons, but Angus knew it was better to be safe than sorry. When he was met with silence, he turned the bronze doorknob with the utmost care and let the door swing open on its hinges, revealing a dark, quiet hallway lit by the fading afternoon light filtering in through the windows. One glance at the coat rack on the back of the door showed that Taako’s sweeping silver winter coat – the most extravagant item of clothing he owned – was gone, and Angus straightened up and ducked into the hallway, closing the door behind him with a click.

Angus had been upstairs a few times before. He knew that Taako had a small bedroom that was mostly occupied by a king-sized bed, a rarely used and tiny study filled with aging cookbooks and filing cabinets overflowing with paperwork, and his pride and joy: a petite kitchenette. In the evenings, delicious smells would drift down from the spiral staircase and permeate the whole bakery – one day it would be spicy curry with coconut and chicken, or maybe fresh salmon coated in dijon and topped with dill, or the best of all, Taako’s gooey chocolate-chip cookies, which were the definition of crisp on the outside and melty on the inside. Taako practically lived inside the kitchenette, so of course it would be Angus’ first stop on his mission.

The kitchenette was at the end of the hall, and Angus was taken by surprise when he peered through the doorframe to take a look. The room was a complete and utter disaster. What Angus had previously seen to be pristine countertops and organized cabinets had devolved into a mess of dirty dishes and foodstuffs strewn randomly about the space. The small table where Taako would sit at and copy recipes (often with Angus sitting nearby, attempting the latest Neverwinter Times crossword) was snowed under with official-looking papers and notes in Taako’s looping handwriting. Angus dragged up a chair and climbed up on it, perching on his knees so he could take in more of the table. He grabbed the first thing he could reach on the table and, pushing his glasses farther up his nose began to read.

* * *

Around a half-hour later, Taako banged open the door to the upstairs apartment and shook the snow off his coat. He pulled off his boots and gloves, and laughed as the man who had entered behind him tried to untangle the colorful scarf that was thoroughly wrapped around his head. The man was otherwise dressed entirely in grays and blacks and the snow on his shoulders and head stood as a stark contrast to his muted clothing and brown dreadlocks. He shrugged off his coat and stuck it on the coat rack with the ease of someone comfortable with their surroundings, before following Taako down the hallway. Taako was babbling animatedly about some new whisking technique he had developed when he stopped dead in his tracks outside of the kitchenette. Sitting at the little round table and clutching a stack of papers to his chest with tears gathering in his eyes was none other than his boy, Angus McDonald.

Angus had just been about to climb down from the chair when he heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. Taako was home, much earlier than he had expected him to be. This was really fucking bad. As Angus was trying to simultaneously reorganize the papers on the table and also stop the tears that had been welling in his eyes for the last twenty minutes from falling, Taako’s silhouette appeared in the doorway. Angus felt the papers drop from his arms and scatter across the floor as he put one hand over his mouth to stifle the sob that he felt rising in his chest. He closed his eyes, already feeling his face burn with embarrassment when he felt a hand rest lightly on his shoulder. He peeked an eye open, shoulders still shuddering as he tried to steady his breaths. Taako wasn’t even bothering to hide the look of concern and regret on his face - he had guessed what Angus had read the moment he walked into the room. 

“Angus, hey, this isn’t what it looks like, I promise.” Taako said with an unusually gentle voice, rubbing Angus' back. Angus shrugged halfheartedly and sniffled loudly. “We’re just trying to work out the best solution to our situation here, I promise. Let's just talk, ok?”

The boy just shook his head and stared at the floor as he tried to formulate a response.

“It-it looks like, um,” he said, sniffling again, “it looks like you want me to leave?” Taako’s hand paused on Angus’ shoulder and he started to respond when Angus lifted his head and looked him in the eyes, still a little teary. “I’m not stupid, sir.” he said, and took a deep breath in to steady himself. “All of this is pretty clear – someone reported me and now I have to leave. It’s, I’m not – you should have just told me.”

Angus shrugged off Taako’s hand and unsteadily got to his feet. “I’ll be downstairs,” he muttered, before walking out of the room. The man in the hallway stepped back to allow the boy to pass through, and Angus only spared him a cursory glance before walking out of sight.

Taako let out a deep sigh. The man entered the room, looking uncomfortable as he studied the mess around him.

“Was that him?” he said softly. Taako nodded.

“Kravitz, this was so not the plan. The whole point was that he wouldn’t – ” Taako broke off and gestured helplessly. “He wasn’t ever supposed to know – hell, you weren’t supposed to know…” He stopped talking and slumped into the chair Angus had been in moments before.

Kravitz walked up behind him and hesitated only for a moment before dropping his hands on Taako’s shoulders and pressing him into a hug. Taako sighed and leaned back into him, welcoming the comforting warmth of his hands and the familiar weight of his arms.

It was one thing to have a boyfriend no one really knew about, but quite another when that boyfriend was employed by social services to investigate the child living in your home. Taako had tried his best to sort it out – he would make sure Angus wasn’t behind the counter too much so people wouldn’t ask any questions, with Kravitz’s help he would forge a report that claimed Angus had been removed from the vicinity, and he would keep Kravitz and Angus from ever actually meeting, so Kravitz wouldn’t be required to report anything to his superiors. But he had underestimated Angus’ curiosity, and now, sitting at the small round table in his kitchenette with Kravitz’s arms around him, he wondered if he had made a mess he couldn’t fix this time.

Kravitz, almost as if he had read Taako's mind, leaned down and whispered in his ear. 

"It's all going to work out, Taako. I promise it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a bitch and a half to write - i hate dialogue so much you guys. also, I love and appreciate all of your feedback so so so very much!!!! xoxox


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